Lin Xiao was currently crafting the soul tool that he had previously discussed with Feng Shen, one capable of sealing the Snow Empress's soul.
After all, the Snow Empress was a 700,000-year soul beast; her spiritual power was not weak. Keeping her inside the Higanbana Flower would inevitably cause constant distraction, and for him right now, this soul tool was quite important.
Lin Jiayi nodded upon hearing this and did not continue watching. Instead, he turned to Lin Xiao. "I came here today for the matter we discussed before."
Lin Xiao pulled out a chair and sat down as well. "The previous matter?"
"Yes, wasn't it just yesterday that we talked about you staying in the academy after graduation?"
Lin Xiao nodded. He had indeed promised Jing Hongchen that he would continue to remain in the Illustrious Virtue Hall after graduating.
This was not a bad thing for him either. After all, when it came to improving his soul engineer rank, there was no place more suitable than the Illustrious Virtue Hall.
Although he no longer guarded against everything as he had before, his desire for strength had never changed.
"Last night, after the Hall Master returned from the palace, he sought me out overnight." Seeing that Lin Xiao still remembered the previous matter, Lin Jiayi continued.
"Starting today, the Illustrious Virtue Hall will begin large-scale alloy smelting experiments."
"Unlike crafting other soul tools, smelting alloys only requires a relatively clean environment. The Hall Master will reveal the existence of alloys to a portion of the researchers."
"After that, various alloys will be attempted through different materials, ratios, and temperatures. In the Hall Master's vision, within one year, alloys should be able to replace the role of some rare metals, allowing certain soul tools to be used on a large scale."
"If possible, existing soul tools will also be significantly improved through alloys, increasing their power or lowering the usage requirements."
Lin Xiao listened to Lin Jiayi's words without feeling too surprised. After he had publicly shared the concept of alloys, he had already anticipated that this day would come. It was just that...
"Teacher, why is the Hall Master in such a hurry?"
Lin Jiayi paused for a moment, looking at Lin Xiao in silence for a while. "There's no need for me to hide this from you. Currently, His Majesty is gravely ill and unconscious, while the Crown Prince harbors great ambitions."
In the end, it was a discussion about the imperial family, so Lin Jiayi did not speak too explicitly, but Lin Xiao still understood the implication in his words.
The Illustrious Virtue Hall was already preparing for the impending continental war.
Upon hearing this news, Lin Xiao did not feel much emotional upheaval in his heart. He had known about this matter all along, and no matter the outcome, it seemed to have little impact on him.
"I came to find you today to ask if you want to graduate now?"
"Ah?" Lin Xiao slightly raised his head.
"There has never been a unified standard for graduation among the students in the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Some students are willing to stay in the hall to continue learning, and the Illustrious Virtue Hall naturally welcomes them."
"But if they want to leave here to serve elsewhere, we won't stop them either."
"After you graduate, you can immediately take a position in the hall. When the alloy smelting experiments begin, there may be many areas where you need to provide guidance; after all, in the entire academy, even the entire continent, only you have this experience."
Looking at Lin Jiayi's gaze, Lin Xiao opened his mouth. "Actually... I don't have that much experience either."
Lin Xiao paused slightly. "I have a rather special soul bone. The previous smelting was all completed through the soul bone, and as for controlling the heat, I don't have much experience in that either."
Lin Jiayi was also stunned for a moment, but soon he heard Lin Xiao continue speaking.
"However, I can share some changes that occur during the metal smelting process for the researchers in the hall to use as a reference."
"Sigh, alright, this is the only way." Lin Jiayi nodded, not inquiring too much about Lin Xiao's soul bone.
"Oh, right, there's one more thing." Lin Jiayi changed the subject. "The project No°1 that you saw before... the Hall Master intends that after you graduate, you can participate in project No°1."
"Actually, when you first entered the academy, I recommended you to the Hall Master because of your outstanding spiritual power. For that kind of large-scale soul tool, only soul engineers with exceptional spiritual power can control it."
"But at that time, due to your background, the Hall Master did not agree."
"This time, if it weren't for your intervention, project No°1 might have fallen into the hands of the Body Sect. Moreover, the Hall Master has already opened all the technologies in the Illustrious Virtue Hall to you, so if you want, you can participate as well."
Lin Xiao listened to Lin Jiayi's words, frowning thoughtfully. "Sorry, Teacher. Project No°1 is indeed outstanding, but in comparison, I'm more interested in the hall's humanoid soul tools."
Lin Xiao had never entered the Illustrious Virtue Hall to promote the development of soul tools; it was merely to enhance his own strength.
He himself was still a soul master. Whether it was the Higanbana Flower or necromancy magic, his combat power as a soul master was not weak. Controlling a large-scale soul tool like project No°1 for battle would instead discard his advantages as a soul master.
In comparison, before the array, floating cannons could break through to level 8 soul tools in the short term; humanoid soul tools that could comprehensively amplify combat power were clearly more suitable for him.
However, after glancing at Lin Jiayi, Lin Xiao did not refuse too bluntly. "But if it's just needing a soul engineer to help with testing, I can assist with that."
"Good, that's enough with your words." Lin Jiayi smiled. "So that means you're planning to graduate immediately?"
"Yes." Lin Xiao nodded. Now that he had Jing Hongchen's promise, he could participate in the creation of many soul tools and learn various soul tool technologies within the Illustrious Virtue Hall.
Remaining here as a student no longer offered other benefits; it was better to become a researcher in the Illustrious Virtue Hall for more freedom.
"Good, then as we discussed earlier. Besides your own self-propelled soul cannon series as your research direction, I will also report to the Hall Master to have you participate in the research and creation of humanoid soul tools."
"You might be quite busy for a while. Once the Illustrious Virtue Hall is rebuilt and everything gets on track, you can stay in the hall to peacefully break through."
Lin Jiayi stared at Lin Xiao for a long while, suddenly sighing deeply for some reason. "You are the most outstanding disciple I've ever seen, and now you're about to graduate."
Lin Xiao smiled upon hearing this. "If it weren't for Teacher back then, even if I could enter the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, it probably would have taken a long time to become a soul engineer from scratch without any foundation."
"No, with your talent..." Lin Jiayi said, then paused. "Forget it, let's just treat all of this as originating from a coincidence."
"I prefer to call it a kind of fate." Lin Xiao said as he stood up and slightly bowed. "Thank you, Teacher. During my time at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, I've been very happy."
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